Management component of a signalling transfer point

ABSTRACT

Operators of transfer points in the signalling network number 7 wish, on the one hand, to protect themselves against unauthorized use; on the other hand, these operators want to require fees for the use of the STP. The present invention solves this demand in a simple way in that it unites MTP charging with incoming linkset/DPC (desination point code) screening such that the accounts and their respective sub-accounts could be managed according to the evaluations of the covered traffic.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to signaling in or betweentelecommunication networks, and in particular to common channelsignaling systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

Operators of transfer points in the signalling network number 7(signalling transfer points, STP) wish, on the one hand, to protectthemselves against unauthorized use, i.e. to allow the use of the STPonly on the basis of certain agreements and on the other hand, to chargefees for the use of the STP.

The document, U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,244 (Fuller et al.) discloses theimplementation of the functions “screening” and “measurement” forsignalling messages.

The following methods have formerly been applied for the implementationof these functions in the standards: a) In the Q.705, §8, MTP (Messagetransfer part of SS7 Protocol) screening on the basis of OPC/DPC(Originating Point Code/Destination Point Code) incoming linkset/DPC isdefined in that an OPC/DPC matrix defines the allowed or banned trafficrelationships. Furthermore, there are demands made of the screening inSTP that go beyond this, i.e., in Bellcore (GR-82-CORE, Appendix C). Noobject model has been defined for this screening by ITU, which makes astandardized management of these functions more difficult or,impossible.

Measurements (payments/billing) and a pertinent object model for thecharge calculation of the traffic are defined in recommendations Q.752and Q.751.3. This is based on a cascading principle wherein theimmediately adjacent transmitter (operator of the neighboring node) paysfees to the operator of the STP. The neighboring transmitter is therebyidentified on the basis of the incoming linkset, whereby a group ofincoming linksets can definitely be combined into an account when aplurality of neighboring nodes are operated by the same operator and thetraffic deriving from them need not be differentiated in greater detail.

On the other hand, the operator of the STP himself incurs charges,presumably by forwarding messages to other STP.

This fact is taken into consideration in that the operator of the STPmay presumably require different fees for different destinations thatare identified by the DPC in the transferred messages. Normally, thepossible DPC are divided into DPC groups for this purpose and thetraffic sent from a neighboring operator to these DPC groups isseparately measured, i.e. there are sub-accounts for each definedaccount.

The cited recommendations thereby assume that these DPC groups areidentical for all neighboring operators, i.e. that each account has thesame sub-accounts. This, of course, does not preclude that specificsub-accounts of the different accounts are charged differently in apost-processing. For one network operator, for example, the trafficcovered on a specific sub-account could be cost-free, whereas anothermust pay fees for the traffic covered on the same sub-account. Thisrestriction on identical sub-accounts is in fact practical and desirablefrom the point of view of an efficient realization, but is notabsolutely necessary and is also of no significance for the presentinvention. For the sake of completeness, it should also be mentionedthat the cited recommendations also define mesurements for verificationof billing charges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the object of realizing the charging and thescreening in an STP in a simple and dynamically beneficial way.

This object is achieved by the management component of the signalingpoint. The management component allocates inquiries into various groupsbased upon a selection criteria. Once an inquiry satisfies the selectioncriteria, it is then forwarded to a designated group. The management isuseable by a plurality of operators.

Furthermore, a handling component of the signaling point routes amessage of each specific group according to a criteria identical for allother messages of that specific group. The criteria used for routing themessages has two components, namely; a traffic measurement and ascreening function. This handling component (arrangement) comprises aplurality of other handling components that are respectively uniquelyuseable by the operators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network configuration that applies thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram that shows an exemplary applicationof the signaling point according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is explained in greater detail below.

The invention is based on the concept that traffic that is to be chargeda fee should often also be similarly screened. This perception can alsobe inventively converted in a simple way in realization-oriented terms.Accordingly, the present invention unites MTP charging with incominglinkset/DPC screening such that determinations can still be made foreach account and for each of its sub-account regarding what is to bedone with the traffic needed to be covered. Possible procedures are, forexample, counting and forwarding (corresponds to the previous feecharging), counting (measuring) and discarding (corresponds to incominglinkset/DPC screening with simultaneous measurement of illegal traffic),forwarding or discarding.

A The object model contained in Q.751.3 can be expanded for this purposewith few additions. The slight changes that are required in the Q.751.1are reflected in the realization of this type of incoming linkset/DPCscreening when the charging is already realized i.e., in EWSD. Comparedto the charging, only a slight additional dynamic load results. Thecritical realization-oriented costs are in the administration of thedata and in offering the access procedures, which are (practically)identical here, namely; screening and charging. Just about the same istrue of the dynamic outlay. In contrast, an implementation strictlyaccording to Q.705 requires substantial additional expenses.

An exemplary modification of the MTP accounting object model in Q.751.3for realizing the invention is presented below. The proposedmodifications are in italics and underlined.

1) Modification of the mtpAccountPackage

mtpAccountPackage PACKAGE BEHAVIOUR mtpAccountPackageBehavious BEHAVIOURDEFINED AS “The mtpAccount managed object allows by means of thesignLinkSetTpSet attribute to define a set (at least one) ofsignLinkSetTps which are leading to an adjacent operator and thereforetheir MSU traffic can be accounted/verified collectively. OnesignLinkSetTp must not be assigned to more than one mtpAccountPackageinstance within on mtpSignPoint. All signLinkSetTpSets of mtpAccountswith the same operatorName value must be disjunct. The selectionItem ineach of th entries of selectionGroupSet refers each to one instance ofdpcGroup, the optionalSelectionItem can be used to refer one instance ofsiGroup. Each selectiongroup entry shall be unique in this attribute.The optionalReactionItem can be usedto specify the reaction if the selection criteria is met (“count”, “discard”,“count+discard”, “pass”, . . .) For each selectionGroup it is countedseparately. Each counter information contains the number of MSUs, thenumber of octets and an eventual data problem. The counter are notreadable but only available in the notification data. If all countersfor verification or accounting should still be zero at the end of themeasurement, the corresponding notification should be generatedregardless of that in order to provide a measure against notificationloss. Two different notifications, one for accounting, one foraccounting verification containing the measurement results might begenerated by this one object. If a selectionGroupSet is empty, then thismeans, that accounting resp. verification is not performed for theadjacent operator. In this case there is not notification for accountingresp. verification.”;; ATTRIBUTES mtpAccountId GET SET-BY-CREATE,signLinkSetTpSet GET SET-BY-CREATE ADD-REMOVE, operatorName GETSET-BY-CREATE, selectionGroupSetForAccounting GET REPLACE ADD-REMOVE;selectionGroupSetForVerification GET REPLACE ADD-REMOVE; NOTIFICATIONSMTPaCCOUNTING, mtpAccountingVerification; REGISTERED AS{mtpAccountPackage-POi};

2) No Modification of the SelectionGroupSetForAccounting Attributes

selectionGroupSetForAccounting ATTRIBUTE WITH ATTRIBUTE SYNTAXAccountingDefinedTypesModule,SelectionGroupSet; MATCHES FOR EQUALITY:BEHAVIOUR selectionGroupSetForAccountingBehaviour BEHAVIOR DEFINED AS“The selection GroupSetForAccounting attribute refers to set of groupsof object instances that are representing the items against whichincoming SS7 traffic should be registered.”;; REGISTERED AS{selectionGroupSetForAccounting-AOi}; SelectionGroupSet ::= SET SIZE (0. . . maxNumberReferencesInSelectionGroupSet) OF SelectionGroup

3) Required Modification of the SelectionGroup Type

SelectionGroup ::= SEQUENCE { selectionItem [0] ObjectInstance,optionalSelectionItem [1] ObjectInstance OPTIONAL, optionalReactionItem[2] Reaction Type OPTIONAL }

4) Example for Definition of the ReactionType Type

ReactionType ::= ENUMERATED { passOn (0), count (1), discard (2),chargeAndDiscard (3), . . .} or Reaction Type ::= BITSTRING { count (0),discard (1), - - - the reaction is activated, if the correspondingbit is set }

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary application wherein an operator (forexample, D1) offers Internetwork-STP services to a plurality of othernetwork operators (for example, D2, E+, E2). Accordingly, D1 shouldinteract with all other networks, and D2 should interact with D1 andE+,and E+ should interact with D1 and D2, and E2 should only interactwith D1. Furthermore, the ensuing traffic. The traffic that is therebyforwarded should also be charged depending on the destination network.

Although other modifications and changes may be suggested by thoseskilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventors to embodywithin the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications asreasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution tothe art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A management component of a signaling point,comprising: means for allocating incoming messages of said signalingpoint to groups of messages, wherein each message in the same group ofmessages has the same designated selection feature, said means forallocating includes means for defining said designated selection featurefor each respective group that each message must satisfy in order toqualify for allocation to said respective group; and a handlingarrangement that handles all messages within said same group of messagessimilarly by utilizing a traffic measurement and a screen function.
 2. Amanagement component according to claim 1, wherein said defineddesignated selection feature relates to a linkset through which amessage should arrive and said defined designated selection featurerelates to at least one destination point code set to which adestination point code of a message should belong.
 3. A managementcomponent according to claim 1, wherein said management component isuseable by a plurality of operators, and wherein said handlingarrangement comprises a plurality of handling components respectivelyuniquely useable by said operators.
 4. A management component accordingto claim 1, wherein said management component is devised based on anenhancement of message transfer part of a signaling system 7 accountmodel of International Telecommunication Union Q751.3, said enhancementcomprising of a corresponding reaction item for screening.
 5. Asignaling point, comprising: an allocation component that allocates anincoming message to a defined designated group of messages based onfeatures of said defined designated group; a handling component thathandles all messages of said defined designated group similarly; amanagement component that determines said features by which a group isdefined, said management component determines for said handlingcomponent manner and way of handling messages by utilizing a trafficmeasurement and a screen function.
 6. A method for routing a message ina signaling point, comprising the steps of: allocating, via anallocation component of said signaling point, said message to a definedgroup of messages on a basis of features of said defined designatedgroup; handling, via a handling component of said signaling point, allmessages of said defined designated group in a similar way and manner,determining said features of said defined designated group by managementcomponent of said signaling point, and determining said way and mannervia said management component of said signaling point, wherein saidmanner and way comprises a traffic measurement and screening function.